I am a creature of habit at my favorite Italian restaurant. Every time we go, I order the same thing – Eggplant Rollatini! Every time! I love all the gooey melted cheese wrapped up in a guilt-free eggplant with a delicious marinara. I’m hungry just thinking about it!
Just pick up a couple eggplants in the Produce section, and some ricotta & shredded mozzarella in Dairy, and you probably have all the rest of the ingredients on hand!
A mandolin also comes in handy in this recipe, but you could also just slice the eggplant instead. Given that the eggplant is roasted before you make the rollatini, you bake out any bitterness that you may associate with eggplant. Really, this is a vegetarian entree that satisfies and you won’t even miss any meat!
Eggplant Rollatini
Sliced eggplant stuffed with spinach and cheese, get rolled up and baked with marinara and lots of melted cheese on top! A vegetarian dish to please everyone!
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese - divided in 1/2 cup & 1 cup
- 1/2 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup marinara or pasta sauce
- 10 oz. package frozen spinach (thawed & squeezed to remove as much liquid as possible)
- 1 egg
- 1 clove garlic - minced
- 1/2 TSP Italian seasoning
- 1/2 TSP garlic salt
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees and slice eggplants. Remove ends from eggplant and either slice them thinly lengthwise OR slice using mandolin.
- Step 2 Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil or baking spray and place 12 eggplant slices on it – you may need two pans.
- Step 3 Bake for 10 minutes – remove from oven and let cool.
- Step 4 While eggplant cooks, make spinach/ricotta mixture. In a bowl, combine spinach, ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, parmesan, egg, garlic, Italian seasoning & garlic salt – mix well and season to taste.
- Step 5 Spread 1/2 cup of marinara sauce in bottom of large baking dish.
- Step 6 Top each cooled eggplant slice with 1-2 tablespoons of ricotta mixture, roll it and arrange in prepared baking dish, seam side down.
- Step 7 Top with remaining 1/2 cup marinara sauce and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella (1 cup).
- Step 8 Cover with foil before baking for 30 minutes in oven. Then, remove foil and return to oven for another 15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.
- Step 9 Serve with your choice of veggie or side. Buon Appetito!
